Bozeman Montana Real Estate Information

The Montana Land Board gave the preliminary go ahead for land swap between the state and county for the Logan Landfill. The agreement should benefit both parties and avoid bureaucratic money exchanges in the future.

Currently, the Logan Landfill is owned by the state. The county actually has to lease the land and at a pretty good sum. Each year, the county pays more than $26,000 in yearly rent for the 48-acre landfill. The waste district also pays $47,000 a year to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality for its permit. Under the agreement with the state, the rent on the landfill was also designed to increase by 3% each year. Although the Logan Landfill does not operate on tax dollars but a $27 per ton tipping fee, it still came time to get ownership into county hands.

Of course, the state will not just give land away for free, even to one of its counties. The county has paid $900,000 for a piece of land located just west of the landfill, which they have put up in a direct swap with the state. The state would gain a large revenue from the farming leases already in place on the land.

The deal could prove very beneficial to both parties. The county would not have to pay the state rent anymore, while the state would not lose the counted on funds from the landfill. Under county ownership, one would expect the landfill to have more autonomy to make necessary decisions.